Three NEW Gratitudes Each Day!

& Watch your Optimism & Resiliency Grow.

Last week I spent 90 minutes speaking and networking with a fabulous group of about 50 Wellness Reps who work for a large company.  They come together once a year to get inspired and learn new evidence based wellness tools that they can share with their colleagues - and they volunteer their time to do it!  It's a super creative and meaningful way to help boost the wellbeing of a large number of employees.

My topic was on “The Science of Happiness & Resiliency”.  I specifically introduced them to five simple and powerful science-based tools they could use to boost their own wellbeing, and share with their colleagues.  We had a lot of fun and they walked away with fresh and valuable tools in their toolbox!  

One of the tools I shared is called The Three New Gratitudes by Happiness Expert Shawn Achor.  It takes 1-2 minutes to do every day.  Every day you think of three NEW things you are grateful for, and why.  You do this for 21 days, each day thinking of 3 NEW things you haven't thought of before, and why you´re grateful for each.  After 21 days, you will have thought of 63 unique things you are grateful for any why you´re grateful for each.  Wow!

Why do this?  Well, there are a LOT of benefits, yet the main one I´m going to share here is a significant boost in Optimism!  During the 21 days, you´ll be training your brain to get better at noticing the positives in your life, the good things.  And that gives you a boost of optimism and genuine happiness.  And there's more good news.  It turns out that there's a real correlation between optimism and resiliency.  People with higher levels of optimism are more resilient.  And a boost in resiliency means we are better able to cope with the inevitable challenges of life.  Those are some serious pay-offs for 1-2 minutes each day if you ask me.  Right?!

Here are a few examples of what the 3 NEW gratitudes (and why) each day might look like.  You´ll notice that it doesn´t matter if the things you're grateful for are “big” or “small”.  It only matters that they are new ones.  And it matters that you specifically say why you are grateful for each new thing.   Some examples:
“I'm grateful for the Starbucks barista this morning who smiled at me, because it made me feel good”.   “I'm grateful for the fresh air on my walk to work today, because it make me feel more alive”.  “I'm grateful that my sister had a healthy baby today because I'm excited to be an aunt!”  

And here are three Day 1 examples from a coaching client of mine who started doing the 3 Gratitudes two weeks ago (she gave me the ok to share them):  “I'm grateful for the beautiful images on my TV from YouTube, because they bring beauty to my soul”, “I'm grateful that my friend sent me a poem because it made me feel cared about”, “I´m grateful for starting the 3 New Gratitudes experiment because it give me hope that I can bring more optimism into my life”.  

That's it.  You can write them down if you want to (might be nice to have a record) but it´s not needed to get the optimism boost.  What´s needed is that you do this every day for at least 21 days, and that you think of three new things each day - three new things that happened over the last 24 hours.  And why you´re grateful for each.  Bottom line:  21 days, 63 unique things and why.  It´s powerful!  I´ve been doing it for about 3 months now and have no intention of stopping.  Shawn Achor, Positive Psychologist, Happiness Expert and author of The Happiness Advantage, who developed and researched this tool likes to call this a “Happiness Hygiene Habit”.  You brush your teeth every day, so why wouldn't you do the 3 new things every day - to stay happier, more optimistic, and more resilient.  My bottom line for any wellness habit I weave into my life is “does it work!”, and I can say for me, it sure does.  It leaves me smiling more, quicker to adapt to challenges that come my way - more hopeful too.  

And for my client that started 2 weeks ago?  Well, she tells me she's feeling noticeably more “peaceful” so far, and for her that´s key because peace is her main goal.   She's surprised at the difference this simple tool is making in just 2 weeks, and she´s keen to keep experimenting.

If you could use a real boost in optimism and genuine wellbeing, I suggest you try the 3 New Gratitudes for 21 days (or longer!).  And please, if you do, I´d love to hear about it!!  

Here´s to you and living well!    
Lee
#thankfulyou´vereadthis/bringsmejoytosharegoodstuff

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